WhaleNoise · Novel design of offshore wind farms by employing high-fidelity computations to mitigate their acoustic impact on marine life

WhaleNoise emerges as a timely and essential initiative, born from a dual sense of purpose driven by two pressing concerns. Firstly, with the urgent need to achieve ambitious targets in clean energy generation, the European Union set forth its 2020 Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy, aiming for a remarkable 300 GW of offshore wind capacity. In response to this accelerated timeline, the development of offshore wind technology has seen rapid advancements to meet the escalating demand for clean energy. Secondly, over the past 20 years, the world has witnessed a remarkable surge in awareness regarding acoustic pollution in the oceans. This awareness is evident through the increasing number of scientific publications on the subject and the implementation of new regulations aimed at protecting the hearing thresholds of marine animals. Two commonly cited problems with respect to marine renewable devices are collision risk and noise impact. The former is concerned with marine life being unable to determine the locations of devices, also known as the masking problem, and may be alleviated by introducing specially designed warning devices. The latter regards the damaging effect of acoustics generated by the turbine on marine animals (e.g., noise masking communication between individuals) and can be reduced only via a redesign of energy farms. WhaleNoise aligns with these environmental imperatives, as it addresses both challenges in a synergistic manner. Its core mission is to understand and predict the acoustic emissions from offshore wind farms (fixed and floating), seeking to evaluate their detrimental impact on marine life. By striking this delicate balance between clean energy generation and ecological conservation, WhaleNoise promises to contribute significantly to a sustainable and harmonious future for our oceans and the life they nurture.